A Link Between Worlds
by TriforceLover88
Summary: When Demise sets out to take over the land of Hyrule, and quite possibly the world, Link must travel through time with Fi to recruit the different incarnations of the Hero of Legend. What kind of adventures will he face on this new quest? Only time will tell...
1. Chapter 1: Preparation for the Future

**So my boyfriend and I were talking one day, and all of a sudden we got the idea for this story. I'll explain more at the bottom. Enjoy!**

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 **Disclaimer: We do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters.**

 **A Link Between Worlds: Chapter 1**

 **Preparation for the Future**

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"What about you Link? What will you do now?" Zelda asked, gazing at the young hero.

Link smiled and watched as their Loftwings flew away together, the way it was meant to be. He couldn't help but think that was what fate had intended for he and Zelda. He looked back at her and responded, "I want to stay here with you and help you guard the Triforce and build this new world on the surface."

Zelda's face lit up. "You mean it? Truly?"

Link lessened the gap in between them. "As long as it means being able to spend the rest of my life with you, of course."

Zelda smiled, "Thank you Link."

Link looked up into the sky and smiled as if he could see their former home up in the clouds. "When should we go and speak to the people of Skyloft?

Zelda wrapped her arms around him, "I wouldn't mind having a few days to ourselves."

Link embraced his childhood friend. "Shouldn't we find a place to sleep for the night then?" Zelda nodded her head in agreement, still not releasing her friend.

The first place that appeared in the mind of the young hero was the Temple of Time, however, as soon as that idea popped into his mind, he just as quickly pushed it away. The Temple just brought back too many painful memories for both he and Zelda. They had lost two dear friends who had helped them in their quest to stop Demise. Just knowing that Fi was in that sword, so close, yet so far, made Link feel as if he had lost a valuable friend, one who had taken a piece of him with her. Link felt as if a part of him was missing, and he knew Zelda felt the same way about Impa.

These thoughts instantly brought feelings of sadness upon him, causing Link to frown and let out a small sigh. Noticing the change in his demeanor, Zelda looked up at him. They shared a look of longing and sadness and knew that they were both still hurting from the consequences of their long, arduous quest.

Zelda pulled away from him. Grabbing hold of his hand, she looked at him and smiled sadly. "Let's go. We can stay in the Kikwi village. Do you still have the sailcloth?"

Link pulled out the cloth he had received from the girl before their entire quest had even started. Back when their lives still had a sense of normalcy. "Hold on to me," Link told Zelda. Once he was sure she was firmly holding onto him, he jumped off of the statue of the goddess, opening his sailcloth a few feet from the ground.

Once they were both safely on the ground, they silently headed into the forest to the Kikwi village. Long since deserted by the Kikwi, Link and Zelda walked around the village, assuring themselves that no monsters were hidden there, lurking around, waiting for a meal to walk through the forest. After a while, they were convinced that they were the only two left in this village, and so they settled down on the soft ground, gazing up at sky, and even later, the stars.

Link somehow was able to find sleep, but once he did, something strange began to happen. He began to have dreams of Demise and Fi, just as he did before he even knew about what fate had in store for he and Zelda. He soon awoke, the sky still filled with stars, Zelda still quietly sleeping beside him.

Knowing he would not be able to rest that night, he decided to walk around, to try to ease his mind and tire himself out a little so he could get back to his slumber. However, the more he walked, the more he found himself going back to the Temple of Time. Deciding this was his mind's way of telling him he needed closure with what happened to Fi, he walked through the door of the Temple, not stopping until he was directly in front of the Master Sword, his close friend's resting place.

He knelt down in front of the sword, raising his hand to touch it, however, before his hand was able to make contact with the cold metal, the sword began to glow a light blue color. Link gasped and stepped away from the glowing blade. He shielded his eyes, taking a few more steps away from the Master Sword.

"Master Link…"

Link opened his eyes and gasped at hearing Fi's voice coming from the glowing sword. He gazed at it, confused on why she would suddenly awake from her slumber.

"Master Link. Hyrule is in need of your assistance. Please...lift the Master Sword from its pedestal."

Link ran back back to the sword and lifted it without hesitation. Upon doing so, the sword stopped glowing. He turned and saw his friend floating a few feet away from him. "Fi...you're back…" Tears of happiness rolled down both sides of his face. He would have hugged her if she didn't have a problem with physical contact.

"Master Link, Demise has escaped his imprisonment. He is threatening to cause great danger to the future of hyrule." Fi informed Link in her monotone voice.

Link was gasped, his mouth slightly agape. He hadn't thought about the possibility of Demise escaping. He thought that he would finally be able to go on with his life, help build the new world on the surface, maybe even have a future with Zelda…

He shook his head. This was no time for selfish thoughts, Hyrule needed his help...wait… "What is Hyrule?" Link asked Fi, not recognising that name.

"It is a land not too far from existence. It is the future where we must travel to." Fi explained.

Link frowned in confusion. This certainly was a lot of information to take in. "Fi, we must inform Zelda. She needs to know what is going on."

"Very well master. However, I do not advise that this visit take too long. Demise is no longer in our current time." Fi warned the young hero before disappearing back into the Master Sword.

Link looked at the sword in his hand for a while before putting it away and heading back to Zelda. As he made his way back to the village, he was surprised to see that Zelda was awake and apparently also headed towards the Temple of Time.

"Zelda?"

Zelda spotted Link and ran to him, embracing the young man once she reached him. "I had a feeling you would come back to the temple. But why would you leave in the middle of the night without telling me? I was so worried."

Link hugged the girl back, regretting his decision to leave without waking her first. Then he remembered his reason for returning.

"Link, is that the Master Sword?" Zelda asked, confused as to why he would remove it from its pedestal.

"Yes, it is. Come on, let's return to the village, there is something I need to talk to you about." Link led her back to the village, neither one speaking the entire way back. Once they returned, Link started a fire, and they sat in silence until Fi decided to materialize outside with them.

"Fi, can you please explain to us what it is Demise is planning to do?" Link asked his floating companion.

"Demise has cursed you both and your future incarnations for all eternity to forever relive your quest for the triforce. However, by cursing you two, he has also cursed himself and his incarnation to forever be at war for the full triforce. And for as long as he has allowed it, this has, or will, happen. Many incarnations of the three of you have come into existence and battled for the triforce. This cycle is destined to repeat itself for all eternity. However, Demise, seeing that his incarnation has proved unsuccessful in completing his wishes, has decided to take matters into his own hands. He will be traveling through time, and even different timelines, to gain power through his incarnation and his many battles to take over the land of Hyrule, and eventually the rest of the world."

Zelda sat, shocked at what she was hearing. "Incarnations? Curse? But, how is this possible?"

Link's eyes went wide as Demise's final words to him rang in his ears.

" _Extraordinary. You stand as a paragon of your kind, human. You fight like no man or demon I have ever known. Though this is not the end. My hate...never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again! Those who are like you...Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero...They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!_

"Yes...he told me this would happen...once I had defeated him. He said his hate is born anew in a cycle with no end." Link said, his eyes still wide open. "What are we going to do?"

Fi looked at him, "As I said, by cursing you, he cursed himself. The way Hyrule usually prevents the world from falling into the hands of Demise's incarnation, is the hero of legend. Your incarnation is always there to combat that evil and seal it away for some time before it all begins anew. However, by going into the future, Demise has stopped that cycle, and a new hero cannot be born to fight against his evil. We must defeat him so the cycle can be allowed to continue."

Link looked at Zelda. who was staring intently at Fi, trying to absorb all of this new information. He then looked back at Fi, "What do we have to do?"

"We must mirror his own actions. We must go through time, recruiting incarnations throughout the different time periods and timelines," Fi responded, "however, because I am only limited to my knowledge from their experience with the Master Sword, I do not know the locations or time periods of those who did not have the Master Sword with them on their quests. We are limited to the heros who at one point in their quest held the Master Sword."

Link nodded. "When should we get started?"

"I advise that it would be better to begin in the morning so that you are rested and at full strength. You may return to your current time whenever you wish to stock up on supplies."

Link nodded once again. He gazed at Zelda and found her gazing back at him with tear-filled eyes. He embraced her, Zelda immediately beginning to sob into his chest. "After all we've been through, you have to leave again. What if I never see you again?"

Link ran his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. "It's alright. I will be back. As soon as I have the first incarnation, I will come straight back. But I need to do this. I need to keep the world safe, no matter what. But just don't forget that I will always care about you Zelda. You will always be in my heart, and you will be my motivation to keep fighting so I can come back to you. Zelda, I love you. I always have."

Zelda looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face, "Link...I...I love you too. I was going to tell you the day we went flying after the wing ceremony, but...fate caught up to us…"

Link wiped away her tears. "I know...and now that we finally have a chance to just be together, fate is calling me again. I can't ignore it. But I promise you, I will try my hardest to come and see you as often as possible."

He gently pulled Zelda's face up to meet his own and pressed his lips against her's. They stayed this way for a few more seconds before pulling away from each other. "Zelda, if you also desire it as much as I do, I promise that as soon as I am done with this whole business with Demise, I will come back and we will start our life together."

Zelda smiled and nodded happily. "I would like that very much." She wrapped her arms around him.

Link hugged the girl back and knew he would have no trouble going back to sleep that night.

They pulled away from each other. Link put out the fire and lied down next to Zelda. They embraced again, and fell asleep together in each other's arms.

The next morning, Link prepared his things for his quest through time. Fi informed him that where they were going, potions, arrows, and bombs would be available to him, so he did not need to bother stocking up.

He helped Zelda onto her Loftwing and kissed her goodbye before watching her fly away to the world above the clouds.

Fi appeared next to him. "Master Link, ready to depart?"

Link looked around at the village one last time before nodding. "How will we know where to find him?"

"We will appear in front of the home of the Hero of Time."

"Alright then. Let's go." Link said with determination.

"Of course, Master Link." Fi said before a swirling green portal appeared in front of them. Link looked at Fi before walking straight into the portal, Fi following shortly after.

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 **Okay, that is the first chapter!**

 **Just to clarify, only Links who had obtained the Master Sword on their quest will be in this story.**

 **Hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **-TL**


	2. Chapter 2: The Hero of Time

**I am surprised by how well this story is going and how many people actually enjoy it. I hope you continue to enjoy it this chapter. Link is going to meet a certain hero in this chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2: The Hero of Time**

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After passing through the portal, Link found himself staring at what seemed to be house in a tree. "He lives in a tree…?" Link looked at the small tree house in confusion.

"That is correct Master Link." Fi responded, not noticing the hero's confusion.

Link walked towards the small ladder at the front of the tree. It looked small, but seemed strong enough to be able to hold him. He began to climb the small ladder to the entrance of the tree house, Fi floating closely behind him. Once Link reached the top, he peered into the house, seeing a small blonde boy speaking to what looked like a fairy.

"...asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you! The Great Deku Tree has summoned you! So let's get going, right now!"

"A tree has summoned you?" Link asked, shocking the young Hero of Time and the tiny fairy besides him.

"Who are you?" Navi asked, flying closer to the Chosen Hero.

"I'm Link," he said, stepping away from the glowing creature.

"But...I'm Link…" the small child answered.

"They couldn't have been named something other than Link? Really? This is going to make things so much more confusing." Link complained.

Fi floated next to Link, further shocking the tiny fairy and the Hero of Time.

"She can explain who we are and why we're here." Link told them.

Fi floated forward. The small fairy flew back to her young companion, who was still sitting on his small bed.

Fi explained to them what was going on and why they were in their period.

"So, you guys need me to defeat some guy named Demise so that more of me can exist in the future...?"the small elf boy asked.

"That's about the jist of it." Link responded.

"What about the Great Deku Tree?" Navi asked, not forgetting her discussion with the guardian of the forest.

"He will perish. It is inevitable." Fi informed them.

The Hero of Time stood from his bed. "If this is really important to saving the future of Hyrule, then I will go with you. I know the Great Deku Tree would agree with me..."

Link smiled at the boy. "Thank you. You will increase our chances of defeating Demise. Your help is much appreciated."

Young Link nodded, "Just...can we do something else first...?"

Link looked at the child in confusion. "What do you have in mind...?"

The child looked down, then at his newly acquainted fairy companion. "Can I say goodbye to the Great Deku Tree?"

Link blinked a few times before looking at Fi for approval. At getting no objection from his floating friend, he faced the Hero of Time and nodded slowly.

Fi floated forward, getting everyone's attention. "I suggest you not take very long. The Great Deku Tree does not have much time left." At hearing this, the small kokiri gasped and rolled out of his small tree house, Navi flying quickly after him.

Link blinked a few more times, before looking back at Fi, " Did he just somersault out of here?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Just making sure..." Link turned and headed towards the doorway, pausing as Fi returned inside the Master Sword. He then ran out of the tree, jumping off instead of using the ladder. He scanned the forest for his young ally and spotted him arguing with another child near an entrance of some sort.

"Mido! I need to go see the Great Deku Tree! Let me pass!"

"I'm not letting you by if you aren't properly equipped. Come back when you have a sword and a shield!"

Link walked up to the two bickering children. "Is there a problem here?"

Young Link looked at him," He won't let me see the Great Deku Tree."

"He isn't properly equipped!" Mido yelled, glaring at the blonde child.

Link smirked, "I think we'll be fine..." He took out his Master Sword and almost laughed when he saw Mido's eyes widen as he took a step back.

Mido slowly moved out of the way and watched as they headed towards the Great Deku Tree.

"You know, he has a point. You really should have a sword and shield. You need to be able to protect yourself." Link said, putting away his sword.

"I know, but I've never had a reason to have one." Young Link responded, jumping out of the way of a Deku Baba.

"Things are different now. A sword and shield is necessary for our adventure. Here, let me see if I can do something about that... Fi, can you come out?"

The blue being appeared next to her master, "Yes Master Link? Is there something I can assist you with?"

"Can you find the location of a sword and shield so that the Hero of Time won't be so defenseless?" Link asked, gesturing to the child besides him in the end.

"Yes Master."

"I think I heard Saria say that there was a shield in the shop. But I don't know how much it costs..." The blonde kokiri informed them.

"Fi, can you find out?" Link asked his floating companion.

"Yes Master Link." Fi replied before disappearing to do what they asked.

The two heroes continued where the Great Deku was located. They walked in silence the entire way there, neither knowing what to say to the other. Soon enough, they reached the guardian of the forest.

"Great Deku Tree..." Navi called quietly.

"Oh...Navi...Thou hast returned..."

Link looked up at the huge tree in astonishment.

"Link...Welcome...and who is this?"

Link stepped forward, "I come from the past. I am the Hero of the Goddess, Hylia. My name is Link. I have come in search of your young hero. The future of Hyrule and even the whole world is in danger. There is a threat, greater than any you have known. His name is Demise. He is planning on gaining more and more power through an incarnation of his. My power is not enough to defeat him. I need the combined power of all of the heroes of legend to be able to defeat him and allow the cycle to continue."

"Great Deku Tree...I know you need me, but so does he. I feel like this is the right thing to do." The Hero of Time looked down, feeling somewhat ashamed for abandoning the father of the kokiri children.

"Link...do not punish yourself. I was destined to perish. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it. I called you here to see if you were prepared for the journey you had ahead of you. I see now that you are. Go on Link. And take this as a reminder of the courage you possess."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a glowing stone floated down and landed in the young hero's hands. "What is it...?" He asked in awe.

"It is the kokiri's emerald, otherwise known as the spiritual stone of the forest. I have faith in you and know you will keep it safe."

The young boy's eyes filled with tears as he looked up. "Thank you Great Deku Tree...I promise I won't let you down…"

"And Navi...do your best to aid Link in any way possible. I have a feeling this adventure will be very challenging."

The tiny ball of light flew forward, "Of course! I'll stay besides him at all times! We're a team now!"

"Now, I believe it is time for you to begin your quest. Good luck to you both."

Both Links nodded, before turning to leave the great tree alone, the younger one more hesitant to do so. Navi waited a bit longer, later rushing to catch up to her partner.

Link looked around for Fi, not forgetting that his younger ally was still unequipped. Suddenly, Fi appeared in front of them. "I have located a sword-like object within a chest. I have also discovered that price for a wooden shield being sold in a shop is forty rupees. I have marked both locations on your map."

Link smiled, "Thank you Fi. That's all for right now."

Fi returned to her place within the Master Sword as Link retrieved his leather pouch filled with rupees. "I think I have enough. But you should go and collect rupees as well, just in case."

The young boy nodded and set off to find the valuable stones. Link walked off to purchase the shield from the shop. He approached the large, red-roofed tree and headed towards the entrance before a small child sitting on the roof interrupted him.

"Hey! Who are you? I've never seen you around here, tee hee!" the red-headed girl called out.

"I'm just a visitor. Don't mind me, I just need to buy something from this shop." Link replied before continuing on into the shop.

"Okay! Have fun handsome!" she called out, giggling in the end.

Link ignored this comment and approached the shopkeeper. "Hello, can I buy that Deku shield?"

"Sure that'll be forty rupees."

"Here you go," Link said, handing the small man two red rupees. The man took the money and handed Link the shield. "I think that shield might be a bit too small for you, don't you think?"

"It isn't for me. I have my own. Well, thanks for the shield." Link said, walking to the exit.

"Thank you for the money."

Link walked outside, surprised to see a small girl with green hair waiting for him.

"So you're this strange visitor I've heard about." she commented, walking up to him.

"Yeah, I'm Link." Link said, smiling at the girl.

"I'm Saria. Best friend of the younger Link."

"That's good, he seems like a very nice guy." Link commented.

"He is. He's sweet, nice, cute…" Saria looked at the boy as he picked up a blue rupee.

"It seems to me you want a little more than friendship with him…" Link teased.

"Yes, this is true. He's captured my heart." Saria admitted.

Link frowned, "Then there is something you need to know…"

Saria frowned as well, "What is it…?"

Link opened his mouth to tell her what was about to happen, when Navi and her young companion went over to where they were. "I collected fifty-five rupees, is that enough?"

Link looked at him and nodded, "Yes, that should be enough. I still have about four hundred, so we should be fine. Here is your shield." The young hero took the shield and hung it on his back.

"Now we just have to find the sword. According to Fi, it is somewhere over that hill." Link pointed to a nearby hill with fences on it.

"That's where we practice defending ourselves." Saria said. the three of them headed towards the hill, reaching the top in a matter of seconds. "This can't be right… it says it's past that wall." Link stated, walking over to it.

"There's a hole…" the young kokiri pointed out, "it's pretty small, but I think I can crawl through." He got on all fours and began to crawl through the hole. Once he got to the other side, he stood up and saw that the path ahead of him was a dead end. He looked to the left and saw a huge boulder rolling his way. Quickly he ran back to the hole, frightened by the sight of the giant rock rolling towards him. He checked the path to the right but found only a weed and a blue rupee, which he picked up and stored in his leather pouch. He knew he would have to avoid the boulder to find the sword, but he had no idea where it was located. "Maybe if I follow it…" Link thought out loud. Deciding that it was better than running in there blindly and risking getting hit, he waited for the boulder to turn down another path before following it. He kept following it until he saw the path split. He looked down the other path before seeing that it was another dead end. He kept following the boulder's path until he saw that there was another split. He glanced down that path, and was about to keep going, when he noticed the large chest resting on a tree stump. He rolled to it and opened it. Having to almost climb into it to retrieve its contents, he grabbed what seemed to be the handle of a sword. He pulled it out and stood on the tree trunk. The boy examined the sword, which seemed to be the right size for him. "The Kokiri's sword… wow…"

He quickly went back to where the hole was and crawled back through it to where Saria and Link were waiting. "I got it." he told them, holding it out for them to see.

"Wow! The Kokiri's sword! That's amazing!" Saria exclaimed.

"It's a bit small though…" Link pointed out.

"I think it'll be fine. It is just my size."

Link nodded. "Fi, we are ready to depart."

Fi materialized in front of them. "Unfortunately Master Link, our work is not finished here. To retain the Hero of Time's power and experiences, we must locate the item that connects him to myself: the Master Sword."

Link frowned, "Where is it located in this time?"

"It is in the Temple of Time. However, I suggest you go see the Princess of Hyrule." Fi responded.

Link nodded. "Where is she located?"

"She is located in a castle near Hyrule Castle Town."

Link looked at the small hero. "Do you know where that is?"

The small kokiri nodded, "I sort of know where it is… I've never been there myself though…"

Link smiled, "Well there is a first time for everything. Let's go." Fi disappeared back into the Master Sword and the Links and Navi headed towards the exit of the Kokiri Forest. As they crossed the bridge, they heard someone call them.

"Link!"

They both turned around and saw Saria standing there, a sad look on her face. "Link… I know that you're going away… the bigger Link told me everything…"

The young boy walked forward, nodding sadly. "I'll miss you Saria… you were my only true friend…"

Saria sighed, "Yeah… friend…"

He walked forward and hugged her. "I won't forget you Saria."

Saria hugged him back. "And I will never forget you Link… ever…"

"I have to go…" the young hero said, releasing her from his embrace.

Saria sniffled, wiping away the tears. "I know. Please be safe. Come back to me soon Link…"

Link nodded, wiping her tears away. "I'll try." He then turned and joined his ally before they both left the forest.

When they arrived outside, They walked out to Hyrule field, however, before they got there, they were stopped by an owl perched on a tree branch.

"Hoo Hoot! Link… Look up here!"

The heroes both looked up at the mysterious owl. "It appears that the time has finally come for you to start your adventure! Hoot? Who is this young man?" Neither Link responded and instead they shared a look of confusion. "Even still, you will encounter many hardships ahead… That is your fate. Don't feel discouraged, even during your toughest times!"

Still, neither hero responded.

"Go straight this way and you will encounter Hyrule Castle. You will meet a princess there… If you are lost and don't know which way to go, look at the map. Did you get all that?"

Both heros nodded.

"All right then. I'll see you around! Hoot hoot hoot ho!" The owl flew away, leaving the heroes alone.

The Hero of Time looked up at the sun and gasped before rolling ahead. "What's wrong?!" Link asked, caught off guard by his actions. "They close the gates at sundown! We need to hurry!"

"Why can't you run?!" Link asked, sprinting to catch up to him. "I go faster this way!" the boy responded.

Deciding to let it go for the moment, Link ran alongside young Link towards Hyrule Castle Town, stopping a few times to regain his stamina. A few hours later they arrived at the gate and ran inside, the boy still rolling. They walked to the marketplace and listened to a few conversations, learning that you could get into the castle by sneaking past the guards. They went over to a path that lead to the castle, once again giving the owl the silent treatment. They noticed that the gate was closed and that there was a guard protecting it. Link noticed a girl singing next to some vines.

"Are you going to the castle fairy boy? Would you mind finding my dad? He must have fallen asleep somewhere around the castle. What a thing for an adult to do! Tee hee! Oh yeah, if you look for him. I'll give this to you. I've been incubating this egg very carefully… Tee hee!" She handed him the egg, which felt weird to him, as if something was moving inside.

Link began climbing the vines, the young boy following behind him. When they got to the top they noticed a ladder leading somewhere below. Deciding to risk it, they climbed down the ladder, which led to a small room within the gate. The room had a door leading to the outside. Link opened the door and the two of them walked out. Link saw all of the guards and immediately began to worry. "Don't worry, I heard they are practically blind and deaf." the boy told him. Demonstrating this, he rolled in between two of them up a hill, and they didn't even seem to notice him. By then, the sun had completely disappeared, the moon now in its place. Link followed the boy's lead, also slipping by undetected. They did this until they came to a small cliff, the castle's moat on the other side. They dove into the water, soon reaching an area where they could climb out. They turned a corner and saw a chubby man sleeping near the moat and some boxes.

"I guess this is that girl's father…" Link said, taking out the egg, the older hero looking at the sleeping man. He turned and saw a hole in the wall of the castle. "Maybe we should go that way…" he pointed at the hole. Link looked at it, then back at his older companion. "You won't fit through there…"

"I know, but you can. I think you'll be able to speak with Zelda about this whole situation and get her to tell you how to get to the Master Sword."

Link's eyebrows creased in uncertainty. "I don't know…"

"Come on, I believe in you Link. You can do it."

Link smiled as all his doubts disappeared, a determined look on his face. The sun rose, and as he was approaching the sleeping man, he heard the newly born chicken announce dawn. The chicken's call awoke the man. "What in tarnation? Can't a person get a little shut-eye around here? Hello, and who might you be? Yep, I'm Talon, the owner of Lon Lon Ranch. I went to the castle to deliver some milk, but I sat down here to rest, and I guess I fell asleep… What?! Malon was looking for me? I'm gonna catch it from her now! I messed up bad, leaving Malon behind to wait for me! She's really gonna let me have it!" he yelled, running out of the castle.

"Here, help me move these boxes!" young Link said, running towards the closest one. The young man went over to the other one, pushing it in the same direction as his companion. Once they had positioned the boxes, Link climbed onto it and jumped to the other side. He looked back at the older hero, receiving an encouraging nod from him. He crawled through the hole, standing up once he had made it through. There were many guards patrolling the area, and he was careful sneaking past them. He made it to a long passage, spotting the princess looking through a window.

He ran up to her, and she turned, gasping. "Who?! Who are you? How did you get past the guards? Oh? What's that? Is that...a fairy?! Then, are you… Are you from the forest? Then...then… you wouldn't happen to have... the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, would you?! That green and shining stone… Do you have it?"

Link nodded, "Yes."

The princess giggled, "Just as I thought! I had a dream… In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule… But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground… The light turned into a figure holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy… I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest… Yes, I thought you might be the one… Oh, I'm sorry! I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself! I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What is your name?"

"My name is Link, and although I know you and Hyrule desperately need my help, I'm afraid, I can't do anything. I am on a quest to make sure Hyrule stays safe after what we're going through is over. I need you to tell me how to get to the Master Sword."

Zelda gasped and glared at Link, "How do you know of the existence of the Master Sword? And what makes you think I'll help you if you so readily refused to help me?"

Link stepped closer to the princess, trying to show her that he meant her no harm. "I can keep Hyrule safe, but I can't do it without the Master Sword. I promise you, Hyrule won't fall into the hands of evil.'

The princess thought about it before responding, "Very well, however, for you to be able to get the sword, you must collect the rest of the three spiritual stones. You cannot get to it otherwise. But you have to promise me you will keep Hyrule safe. Go get the spiritual stones."

Link nodded his head, turning to leave. He spotted an older woman near the entrance of the courtyard.

"I am Impa of the Sheikahs. I am responsible for protecting Princess Zelda. Everything is exactly as the Princess foretold. You are a courageous boy. You are heading out on a big, new adventure, aren't you? My role in the Princess's dream was to teach a melody to the one from the forest. This is an ancient melody passed down from the Royal Family. I have played this song for Princess Zelda ever since she was a baby… There is mysterious power in these notes. Now listen carefully…" She played the song for Link and he made sure to keep the song in mind, he had a feeling it would be something useful to remember.

"If the castle soldiers find you, there will be trouble. Let me lead you out of the castle." Impa offered.

"Actually, I have someone waiting for me on the other side of a hole in the castle courtyard. Can you sneak me there?"

"I can, however, I cannot aid you if the guards find you afterwards." Impa informed the boy.

"That's fine. We'll manage." Link said.

Impa led him to where the hole was located, no guards spotting the small, green-clothed boy. He crawled through the hole and spotted Link on the other side.

"Did she tell you where it is?" The young man asked, standing up.

"She did, but it might be a while…"

* * *

 **Chapter two is done! I hope everyone is enjoying the series so far. I'll work on chapter three right away. It came out longer than expected, but I don't think you guys will complain. I think Ocarina of Time will get a few more chapters before going back to Skyward Sword's world/time. I'm going to make some ties between the two games the next time we go back. I really hope everyone likes this chapter! I'll let you guys wonder how different retrieving the last two Spiritual Stones will be for our heroes. Bye!**

 **-TL**


	3. Chapter 3: The Goron Ruby

**Chapter 3: The Goron's Ruby**

* * *

"Why didn't you ask her where they were located?" The Hero of the Goddess asked, frustrated that their quest was prolonged due to the fact that they had no idea where the stones were located.

"I forgot to ask. Besides, with two of us, we can get those Spiritual Stones in no time." young Link said, not at all concerned.

"Do you even know how many there are?" Link asked him.

"There are three of them. But I have no idea where they are. I get the feeling that we should leave Castle Town." The boy said, avoiding a girl chasing a cucco.

"I think so too." The heroes walked out of the bustling town out into Hyrule Field. The boy and the older hero looked around for any possible places to go. They immediately spotted large stone walls surrounding a building in the middle of Hyrule Field. "What is that?"

"I... think that might be Lon Lon Ranch. That guy we woke up mentioned something about being the owner…" young Link said, already walking towards the ranch.

"You think we need to go there?" Link asked the boy, following behind him.

"Well, there could be something useful there…" _And I also want to know what that ranch girl was up to…_

Link laughed, "Well you could have just told me that to begin with, little buddy."

The boy looked that the young man, his eyes wide with surprise. "What...do you mean?"

Link looked at the boy as if he were crazy, "What you just said, you know, about wanting to see the ranch girl."

"I didn't say that out loud…" The young hero admitted, his face red with embarrassment, "I only thought it in my mind."

The older hero's eyes widened. "We can read each other's minds?"

"It seems like it," young Link said, his face slowly regaining its normal hue.

"Here, let me think something. You tell me if you can hear me." Link closed his eyes. _Hello? Link? Can you hear me?_

The boy also closed his eyes. _Yeah, I can. I have to say, this is pretty amazing._

Link opened his eyes and looked down at the Hero of Time, "It really is, and it'll come in handy if we're ever in a tough spot."

The younger hero agreed. "Can we keep going to Lon Lon Ranch?"

Link smirked "Alright. Let's go."

Both heroes headed to the ranch, the boy rolling the entire way there. Once they arrived, they began heading towards the large horse corral in the middle of the field but were stopped by loud cucco noises.

"Hmm...I wonder what's in there…" The boy walked towards the door and opened it. Inside they found a sleeping Talon surrounded by cuccos. He walked up to him and shook him a bit.

"Mumble...mumble...Huh? I'm awake already! What? Well I'll be! If it ain't the forest kid from the other day! By the way, thanks a lot for waking me up! It took some doing, but I finally got Malon back in a good mood. So, what are you up to today? Got some free time on your hands you say? Well how about a little game? These three Cuccos I have here are special Super Cuccos! I'm going to throw these Cuccos into that there gaggle of normal Cuccos. If you can pick out these three special birds from among the normal Cuccos within the time limit, I'll give you something good. If you can't find them, I win. It'll be 10 Rupees...Want to play?

"Yes," the boy responded, wanting to see what this 'something good' was.

"You have 30 seconds! All righty then, get ready. Here go the Super Cuccos! START LOOKIN'!" Talon then threw the cuccos in three different directions, the boy only able to keep up with two. He picked up one near the entrance of the room. 'That's one of 'em! Keep it up! Keep it up! Two more to find!" The ranch owner informed the young hero. Rolling over to where he last saw one of the Super Cuccos, he quickly picked up the nearest bird. "There's another! All right, now, the moment of truth! One more to find!"

The young kokiri, not having the faintest idea of where the last one could be, began to pick up random cuccos and throwing them away.

The older hero rolled his eyes, not understanding why they were there to begin with. However, knowing exactly where the last cucco was, he closed his eyes and began speaking to the boy in his mind.

 _It's the one closest to the hay in the corner._

The boy immediately turned towards the hay and spotted the cucco his companion was referring to. He picked it up and turned to face Talon. "Golly! I'll be darned! It's plum incredible! That's the last one! You've found them all! Come on over here!"

Link put down the cucco and walked over to Talon. "Hey, you! You've got the talent to be one of the world's best cowboys! How'd you like to marry Malon? Huh?"

The young man chuckled, knowing that the boy had a crush on the little ranch girl.

Link's face turned red once again. "Yes."

"Haw haw! I was just kidding! Just kidding! I think you're a little young for that, aren't you? Haw haw haw! Oh…! I'm proud to present to you a sample of our very own Lon Lon Milk. You'll be energized the moment you drink it! After you drink it, you can bring back the bottle and buy a refill, anytime you want!"

Link took the bottle from the ranch owner and held it up in the air. He remained this way for a few more seconds before walking back to his older friend and opening the door. Talon looked at the boy as he left, confused by his actions. He then looked at the young man in a questioning way.

"It's...it's a hero thing." he explained, walking out with the young hero. The two continued on to the field where they spotted the young Malon singing in the middle. Around her, horses were running around. Link quickly rolled up to the young girl, noticing the filly besides her.

"Oh, it's the fairy boy again! I heard that you found my dad! How did you like the castle? Did you see the Princess? Hee hee! Dad came home in a hurry after you found him. Hee hee! Oh yeah. I have to introduce you to my friend, fairy boy! She's this horse. Her name is Epona. Isn't she cute?" As soon as she said this, the young horse galloped away from the two of them.

"It seems like Epona is afraid of you, fairy boy…My mother composed this song. Isn't it nice? Let's sing it together."

The boy wasn't much of a singer, and he didn't have an instrument to follow along with. The older hero finally caught up to them, not that he didn't take his time doing it.

Link looked at his friend.

 _Hey, do you have an instrument to play music on? It seems like everywhere we go, people want me to learn a new song._

The young man nodded and took out his harp.

"Oh, cute harp! Are you going to play this song with that harp? Ok? This is the Song…" Malon began to sing the same three notes twice, the older hero repeating them afterward. The harp began to sparkle and both Links stared at it in awe. Epona then began to follow the young man, no longer afraid of the strangers in her home.

The boy, still wanting to speak with the young ranch girl, began to approach her once again. However, Link, feeling that they've wasted enough time there, grabbed his tunic and pulled him away from her. "In case you've forgotten, we have something important that we should be doing."

The young hero frowned, but nodded, understanding that he had a duty to keep Hyrule safe. He waved goodbye to the girl, and the two of them headed out of the ranch. Back in Hyrule field, the young man searched for a possible destination. He spotted a large mountain in the distance. "Maybe we should look over there…" He pointed in the direction of Death Mountain.

"Sounds like a good idea, but I have a feeling that would be no place for a wooden shield." The boy commented, looking back at his Deku Shield.

"I think I might have seen a shield in one of the shops in Castle Town, but I think it might be too big for you…" Link told the young hero.

"A big shield is better than no shield. Come on, let's go." The two headed back into Town before sundown. Walking towards the Bazaar, which had a picture of an angry looking man with a beard, they checked their money and walked inside. Once inside, they saw the same man from the picture and noticed that not only his face was covered in hair. They looked around at his wares and immediately spotted the shield. Link instantly recognized it. "Isn't that the same shield you have?" The boy asked the older hero.

The young man looked over and his eyes slightly widened. "It looks like it...except, how is that possible? I received my Hylian Shield from the Thunder Dragon in the Lanayru desert. I earned it by going through many trials that I had experienced throughout my quest. How are there more here?"

Young Link shrugged and approached the counter.

"My current hot seller is the Hylian Shield, but it might be too big for you, kid."

The boy held out eighty rupees to the hairy man behind the counter.

The man took the money and handed him the shield. The young hero held it up in the air for a few seconds before putting it away. The man looked straight ahead, as if he didn't see a thing.

The heroes walked out of the Bazaar and stood next to a woman watching her dog run around in circles. The boy took his Deku Shield from his back and put it away, the shield disappearing seemingly into thin air. He took the Hylian Shield and hung it over his shoulder.

"Alright, let's get going." The older male told the younger one, who nodded and followed him out of the bustling town.

They walked towards the entrance of Kakariko Village, however, before they made it there, they heard a wolfos howl and suddenly, stall children began to come out of the ground, catching the heroes off guard. One of the stall children began to swipe at the younger hero. He started to back up until he heard another stall child come out the ground behind him. He tried to pull out his shield to defend himself, but he quickly realized that it was too big and heavy for him to use, so, thinking on his feet, he ducked down so that his shield was protecting him like a turtle shell. They struck his shield and he waited for an opportunity to get away.

He heard the stall children stop hitting his shield and he quickly stood up and rolled away from his attackers. He glanced over at his older friend and saw that he was standing a few feet from him, not a stall child in sight, looking towards him with his sword and shield out, ready to jump in and defend him if he needed it. He looked back towards his enemies and took out his sword. He focused on one of them and jumped at him and struck him with his sword. He jumped back and did it again and the stall child fell apart and dissolved. He faced the second one and defeated him in the same way.

"Great job, little buddy." Link told young Link, patting him on the back and walking with him towards the town. They entered the town and noticed that everyone was sleeping. There was a lone soldier in front of the gate.

"Ding dong, ding dong! I'm a clock soldier of Kakariko! The current time is: 4:30."

The heroes walked past the soldier, only glancing briefly at him as they walked under the arch that said 'Welcome to Kakariko Village'. The town was quiet except for the sounds of the golden skulltulas scuffling around in the night. They walked through the town, still heading in the direction of the huge mountain. They soon encountered a soldier standing by a gate that was blocking the path up the mountain.

"The road is closed beyond this point! Can't you read that sign over there? The little guy might not be able to read it, but a young man like you should be able to manage."

The Hero of the Goddess stepped forward, "We need to get through. Hyrule is in danger and we need to find the spiritual stones to be able to save it."

The soldier burst out laughing. "Wah ha ha ha hah! Sure you do 'Mr. Hero'."

The young boy remembered something that Impa had told him and quickly formed an idea.

 _Hey, Zelda's protector taught me this song. She said something about the 'Royal Family'. Worth a shot?_

The older Hero glanced down at his young companion and gave him a slight nod.

The boy played him the lullaby Impa used to sing to the princess through their mental telepathy.

"Oh, uh, Princess Zelda told me that if anyone tried to stop us, to play them this…"

The hero then proceeded to play the soldier Zelda's Lullaby.

The soldier instantly grew serious. "You are a messenger of the royal family. My apologies. You can go now… Just be careful, 'Mr. Hero'."

"Will do. Come on Link."

Both heroes walked through the now open gate and headed up the path to Death Mountain. While on their way up, they encountered two tektites.

Link stopped and took out his sword. "What are those?"

The boy followed his lead and took out his own sword. "I think it's a tektite. I've heard of them from the Great Deku Tree. They're spider-like creatures that jump around to attack their enemies. A certain species of tektite can even stand on water."

"If that's the case, maybe the best way to defeat them is to deflect them with our shields to knock them back and then attack them with our swords."

The boy nodded in agreement. "Ready when you are."

"Okay…NOW!"

As soon as those words escaped his lips, both heroes ran to attack the one-eyed monsters. Using the strategy the older male suggested, they quickly defeated them.

"That was easy." The boy ran ahead, not noticing that there was one last tektite. Link, noticing the oncoming threat, ran ahead and raised his shield, protecting them both from harm. The Hero of Time, taking advantage of the opening his companion had given him, rolled out behind the tektite and slashed it with his sword twice before it could even realize what was happening.

"That was close. You need to be more vigilant."

The boy nodded and the two continued on their way up the mountain. Soon it was dawn once again and the two heroes arrived at Goron City.

"There has to be some sort of leader here. He has to know where at least one spiritual stone is." The boy told his older friend.

The older hero nodded in agreement. He looked at one of the gorons and walked towards him.

As he spoke to that goron, a different goron caught the attention of young Link. He was out on a platform suspended by ropes. He walked on the ropes out to the platform.

"Hey! It's dangerous for a little kid like you to come out here. You might fall down! If I'm not mistaken, you came out here to eat the red stone! Well, too bad! It's not here! What? That's not why you're here? You're looking for a 'Spiritual Stone?' You must mean that delicious-looking red stone that was once displayed here! I was so hungry that I thought it would be ok to just give it one tiny little lick...so I snuck out here. But it was already gone! I think Big Brother took it away. He always says that everyone is after that red stone! Big Brother has shut himself up in his room saying, "I will wait in here for the Royal Family's messenger!"

The boy turned from him and made his way back to his older friend.

"Where did you run off to?" Link asked the young hero.

"I wanted to know what that goron was doing up there. Turns out, their leader has shut himself in his room and is awaiting a royal messenger. He has the Spiritual Stone there. What did you find out?"

"Their main food source has recently been closed off and everyone is slowly starving."

The two looked around Goron City.

"The only rooms I see are the ones down on the first level of this place. Down there." The Hero of Time pointed down to a couple of doors on the lowest floor.

The young man nodded. The two made their way towards the lowest level of the city. They observed the two entrances. One had a rug in front of the door and the other had two bomb flowers growing on the walls beside it.

"Let's try the one with the rug first. I don't really want to cause an explosion in this city." The older hero suggested.

The boy nodded. He walked forward and knocked on the stone door, patiently awaiting a response.

"You're standing on a soft carpet for guests… It feels so plush under your feet!" Navi commented, receiving strange looks from the heroes.

"Maybe a song will bring him out." the boy suggested, looking expectantly at his older companion. The Hero of the Goddess nodded and pulled out his harp, playing the song that the young Princess Zelda had fallen asleep to countless times. As if on cue, the stone door sank into the ground, allowing the green clad heroes to enter the room. They soon found who they could only assume was the leader of the Gorons.

"What the heck? Who are you?! When I heard the song of the Royal Family, I expected their messenger had arrived, but… you two are from the forest! Not from Hyrule Castle! Has Darunia, the big boss of the Gorons, really lost so much status to be treated like this by his Sworn Brother, the King? Now, I'm REALLY angry! Get out of my face, now!" the goron yelled, too stubborn to ask anyone for help with his people's problem.

The older Link stepped forward, desperately hoping he could reason with him."Great leader Darunia, this boy and I are on a quest to save all of existence from an evil creature by the name of Demise. I come from a Hyrule that existed hundreds and hundreds of years in the past. We need the Spiritual Stone of Fire to progress in our quest. We heard that you have it, so we ask you to please hand it to us. We assure you that it will be in the right hands."

The Goron leader studied the young man carefully, finally noticing the sword he carried with him. "Is that the Master Sword? Only those who possess a truly courageous heart can wield it. I believe you. However, if I am in fact speaking to two heroes destined for greatness, then I must ask for your assistance. My people are starving because the evil Ganondorf has sealed the way to Dodongo's Cavern and filled it with dodongos. Can you open the way and rid the cavern from the evil creatures within?"

Without hesitation, both heroes nodded, agreeing to help the rock beings in their time of need.

Darunia smiled, grateful that they have decided to help his people. Realising that the smaller boy would be unable to carry the bomb flowers within the cavern, he pulled out a gold bracelet with a red footprint on it. "I have something for you. I'm not really giving you this in return for anything, but take it anyway. If you wear this, even a little fella like you can pick up a Bomb Flower using A."

The boy took the bracelet and lifted it into the air, remaining in that pose for a few seconds before turning back to Darunia, who had completely disregarded the boy's strange actions, and thanked him. The two heroes turned and walked out of the Goron filled city. Once outside, they realised that they had no idea where this cavern was. Young Link looked to his right and saw a green bomb flower. He rolled towards it and observed it for a few seconds, then he picked it up, not realising that in doing so, the fuse was automatically lit.

Upon seeing this, the young man ran towards him, yelling "Throw it!"

The child gasped and instinctively threw the explosive plant over the wooden fence. As soon as the bomb left the child's hands, both heroes ran to the fence and looked over the edge, hoping that the explosive didn't hurt anyone. They saw the bomb land near a sign and almost let out a sigh of relief when they say a single goron curled up in a ball some distance away from the bomb.

They desperately hoped that the goron was too far to be harmed by the bomb flower, and were relieved to discover that it was the case. The bomb exploded, breaking the rocks covering the entrance to a cave and leaving the goron completely unharmed.

At seeing this, the Hero of the Goddess picked up the child and jumped off of the wooden fence, slowing their descent with his sailcloth.

Once they were both safely on the ground, the blue-eyed heroes walked into the cave, glancing at the goron as he sat up from his previous curled up position.

As they entered the cave, they noticed another stone wall that could very obviously be blown up with another bomb flower. The child walked up to one of the explosive plants and picked it up, quickly placing it next to the bombable wall and rolling back to where his companion was standing. The bomb blew up a few seconds later, taking the stone wall along with it, revealing Dodongo's Cavern.

The heroes walked forward, immediately noticing the large skeletal dodongo head directly ahead of them. Before they could progress any further, Navi flew out in front of them, about to speak to the heroes, when she was interrupted by Fi.

"My senses indicate that the quickest way to the source of the evil within the Cavern is located through a door hidden within the mouth of the remains of the large creature known as the dodongo. Memories from the quest of the Hero of Time indicate that the door will be revealed when the large dodongo 'sees red'."

The older adventurer nodded. "So what does that mean?"

"Maybe bombs?" the child suggested, looking at his older companion.

"Perhaps. Fi?" They looked at the floating blue entity questioningly.

"It is likely that bombs are the solution to your current situation." She disappeared within the sword once more.

"So how do we get bombs up there? I can't throw _that_ high." the child wondered, looking up at the hollow eyes of the dead reptile.

Link smirked, looking at his younger incarnation. "We don't have to throw anything." He pulled out his tough beetle and showed it to the young hero, who looked at it with wide eyes.

"What's that?" the child asked in awe, reaching out and touching the metal beetle, running his fingers over it.

"This is my tough beetle. It flies quickly and can even pick up bomb flowers. It can take a few hits as well. All I need to do is pick up a bomb flower and drop it into the eyes of the dodongo skull." Link explained, looking around to find those bombs. Upon seeing them, he ran towards the middle platform to get a better shot at the bomb and the giant skull, the young kokiri following behind him. They jumped across the lava to a platform that was at the moment slowly rising from the deadly substance. Once it stopped rising, hitting its peak, they jumped onto the middle platform, noticing a spinning machine in the center. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that it had a large nose and a mouth that was constantly snarling. It also had a single eye that spun around in a full circle. Navi flew out once again and began to speak, this time not interrupted by Fi.

"Beamos. Watch out for its searching beam! I bet it doesn't like smoke to get into its eye!"

The older Link looked at the spinning creature. " _That's_ a beamos? It looks nothing like the ones I've seen. And it doesn't look like a sword attack will do anything to it." Thinking back to what the small fairy had said, he pulled out a bomb flower from his item pouch and rolled the blue explosive toward the spinning enemy. After a few seconds, the bomb exploded, destroying its 'body' and sending its eye flying into the air before it exploded as well. The two males walked over to the spot the beamos once was, the older of the two once again pulling out his tough beetle. He aimed it at a nearby bomb flower and sent it flying towards it. However, upon coming into contact with the flower, it caused the bomb to explode, sending the beetle flying back to Link.

"Huh? Why didn't it pick it up?" Link asked himself, confused as to why it did not work.

"Maybe it was too heavy." young Link suggested, remembering that he couldn't even pick them up without the Goron Bracelet.

The older hero nodded, putting the beetle away. "I have smaller bomb flowers in my pouch. This is what we're going to do. I'll hand you one of my bombs and you'll hold it above your head. I'll aim my beetle at it and take the bomb, flying it to the eyes."

The child nodded, and with no hesitation took the bomb the young adult handed him soon after and held it above his head. He then watched as he shot the gold beetle at the bomb, feeling it leave his hands moments later. He turned and saw the beetle drop the bomb into the left eye socket of the giant skull. As soon as the bomb exploded, the dodongo's eye began to faintly glow red. Satisfied with the results, they repeated this process with the right eye, causing it to glow red as well, opening the mouth of the enormous reptilian skull.

The heroes looked at each other and smiled before walking together to the door that was revealed within the mouth of the dead dodongo.

After entering the door, the two courageous boys noticed a locked door to their left and a hole a few feet in front of them. They walked forward and saw a blue button inside of the hole, the older of the two jumping down and stepping on it.

"The door opened!" the young hero informed his older past life. Upon hearing this, the Hero of the Goddess climbed out of the hole, causing the bars that were once blocking the door to come back down, locking it once again. They frowned, realizing that the button needed to be weighed down with something. After searching the room for anything they could be able to use to weigh down the button, they found a block sitting on the edge of a ledge. It was too high up for the younger of the two to climb, however, the older Link could easily climb it by running up the wall and quickly grabbing the ledge, which he did. He began to push the block towards the edge, letting out grunts due its weight. Soon, the block fell down and the Hero of Time began pulling it towards the hole, soon joined by the Hero of the Goddess, neither one stopping except to switch from pulling to pushing once they had run out of space to walk. Once the block fell down the hole, the bars lifted from the door, once again allowing the heroes access to whatever was on the other side.

They went through the door and found themselves in a room that was completely empty except for a single treasure chest on the opposite side of the room. Young Link rolled up to it and kicked it open, finding bombs inside. "I don't have anywhere to put them." the child said, looking up at the older hero.

"I don't think we'll need them. I have enough bombs." he responded, checking his pouch just to be sure. "I still have eighteen of them. We'll be fine." The child nodded and began to observe the room, noticing a crack in the floor in the center of the it. Link took out one of his bombs and placed it on the crack in the ground, quickly getting away from it, his young incarnation following suit. The bomb exploded, revealing a hole leading to another room. The two heroes walked forward and fell down the hole together. They landed softly on the ground and looked around. They noticed a large pool of lava covering everything but the edges of the room, leaving enough space for a large animal to walk around. Suddenly they heard loud thumping noises behind them, causing them to turn around. Both heroes took a step back as they faced an enormous lizard that was slowly walking towards them.

"That's the infernal dinosaur, King Dodongo!" Navi informed them as it let out a thundering roar.

The large boss continued to walk forward, causing the younger hero to walk back even further, terrified of the huge monster. Upon seeing this, Link glanced at him and yelled "Don't back away from it! We need to take this evil creature down! For the Gorons. It's alright to be scared, but a part of being a hero is standing up despite those fears to protect those who cannot protect themselves. You can do this!"

The child looked up at the young adult and slowly nodded, walking back to his original position. By this point, the giant dodongo was directly in front of them. He opened his enormous mouth, preparing to let out a large ball of fire. Seeing that it seemingly had a similar attack style to Scaldera, the evil creature he fought in the Earth Temple back on the surface of his own time, he quickly took out a bomb and threw it into the mouth of the large dinosaur, who closed its mouth once the bomb entered it. As the bomb exploded within the mouth of the large dodongo, it became stunned, opening a window for the heroes to attack it.

"Now!" the more experienced hero announced, jumping towards the monster and striking it with a jump attack, his young companion doing the same. Surprisingly enough, the monster let out a roar of pain, curling itself into a ball and slowly rolling away, first hitting one of the walls of the room, then slowly rolling into the lava, half sinking into it before dying. The lava then significantly cooled until it was completely converted into volcanic rock, a glowing blue portal appearing a few moments later near the charred remains of the once ferocious dinosaur. As they walked in the direction of the portal, a large heart appeared near the portal.

"What's that?" young Link asked, walking towards it.

" It's called a 'heart container'. I'm not sure how it works, but whenever I pick one up, I always feel somehow stronger. Go ahead and take it." the older male said, waiting for the child near the blue portal. The young kokiri rolled to the floating heart, picking it up and doing his usual pose before it disappeared within him. Just as his past life had told him, he somehow felt a bit stronger, though he couldn't exactly explain how. Deciding not to think about it too much, he rolled back to knight waiting by the portal, the two of them entering it together.

There were then teleported in front of the entrance to the cavern. Once they landed, a goron dropped right in front of them, surprising both heroes. He patted them both, knocking the young boy off of his feet.

"It's me, Darunia! Well done! Thanks to you two, we can once again eat the delicious rocks from the Dodongo's Cavern until our stomachs burst! What a wild adventure! It will make an incredible story... I can't believe that the Dodongos suddenly appeared in such great numbers! And that big rock blocking the cave... All this trouble must have been caused by that Gerudo thief, Ganondorf! He said, 'Give me the Spiritual Stone! Only then will I open the cave for you!' You two, on the other hand, risked your lives for us...I like you two! How's about you guys and I become Sworn Brothers?! No, there's no big ceremony involved! Just take this as a token of our friendship!"

The leader of the Gorons raised his arms and the Spiritual Stone of Fire floated down and landed in the hands of the younger hero.

"Thank you, Darunia. Now we can continue our quest. You wouldn't happen to know where the third Spiritual Stone is located, would you?" the young man asked.

"Last I heard, it was in the possession of the Zoras. They live in Zora's Domain. Follow the river near Hyrule Castle Town and it should lead you to the entrance to Zora's River. You can make your way to Zora's Domain from there. Good luck to both of you on your journey." Darunia said, receiving a smile and 'thank yous' from both green clad heroes before watching them turn and walk back into Kakariko Village.

"One down, one more to go." Link told his young partner as they entered the gate, both feeling as though they could face anything the world threw at them.

"To Zora's Domain."

* * *

 **That chapter took me way too long to finish. This story is a bit hard for me to write because of all the in-game text I have to put in. It causes me to have major writer's block, which is why this chapter took me as long as it did to write. But it's better now, so I'll try my hardest to update this story within a month or two.**

 **Just to clarify, King Dodongo died from one hit because in Ocarina of Time, he only needs four hits with the Kokiri's Sword, and I believe only two or three with a deku stick, so I thought that if they were both hitting him at the same time using both the Master Sword and the Kokiri's Sword while doing a jump slash, then it would only take one bomb and those attacks to take him down.**

 **I've gotten so many new ideas for this story recently, so I've gotten the inspiration to continue writing. I cannot wait until we have all our green clad heroes with us in this story. It'll be hectic to write, and I'll probably only be able to call them by their titles, such as "the Hero of Time" or "the Hero of the Goddess" but nevertheless, I have things planned for them.**

 **I believe that is all I had to say, so I'll see you all next update for Chapter 4: The Zora's Sapphire!**

 **-TL**


	4. Chapter 4: The Zora's Sapphire

**Chapter 4: The Zora's Sapphire**

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The two heroes walked down the steps of Kakariko Village, stepping onto the grass of Hyrule Field.

"He told us to follow the river. But which way do we follow it? Towards the castle town, or away from it?" Link, the Hero of the Goddess asked out loud, both to help him think and to encourage any suggestions from his younger companion.

"We're closer to where it leads going away from it, so let's try there." the child suggested, earning a nod from the older hero. They followed the river away from Kakariko Village and Hyrule Castle Town until they came to a dark tunnel, the river running through it. They walked through the large tunnel, barely able to see through to the other side, soon finding themselves in a new area they had never been to. Navi flew out, informing the heroes of their current location.

"This is Zora's River." Navi floated around her partner, who just briefly regarded her with a nod before continuing forward, spotting the owl who had interrupted them before.

"Hoo hoo! Looks like you've gotten bigger and stronger already, Link! And your bond with each other grows stronger and stronger with each battle. Just ahead lies Zora's Domain. The Zoras serve Hyrule's Royal Family by protecting this water source. Their door will not open for anyone except those who have some connection with the Royal Family. Let them hear the melody of the Royal Family! Hooo hoo hooooot!" The mysterious owl flew away, unknowingly ignored by the heroes. They found their progress halted by boulders that were blocking the way they were headed. This problem was easily solved by a single bomb flower, which the older adventurer tossed, effectively destroying the large rocks.

The heroes noticed an overweight man chewing on whatever was within the bag he was holding. Deciding not to interrupt him, they jumped across the small gap separating them from another path, continuing forward. However, before they could take another step, they saw a strange octopus-like creature pop up on the surface of the water. At first, the older hero had no idea what he was looking at, but after seeing it shoot a rock toward them, causing him to instinctively hold up his shield to protect them, he realized what the creature was.

"Is that an octorok?" he asked himself out loud.

Navi flew out once again as the octorok's own projectile hit it, causing it to die. "Yes, it was."

Link shook his head. "Everything looks so different. It's strange…"

Ignoring his comment, young Link continued forward, jumping over gaps and off of a platform, his older companion following after. Soon they were standing in front of a large waterfall. Glancing down, they noticed the symbol of the triforce on a stone tile.

Assuming this was the sign of the royal family's messenger, the older hero pulled out his harp and played Zelda's Lullaby. Immediately, the waterfall parted and they jumped into the newly revealed entrance, the waterfall once again concealing it behind them.

They walked into what had to be Zora's Domain. The place was covered mostly in water, with fish-like beings swimming in the water and even standing on what little land there was. They explored the area, noticing there wasn't very much to do other than talking to the Zoras and shop in their store.

Deciding to ask the Zoras who their leader was and where they could find him, they called out to the first Zora they saw, which just so happened to be one swimming behind the shop.

"Hello there. We are here to see your leader. Would you mind telling us where he is?" the adult hero asked the pale blue creature.

"We Zoras all respect the great King Zora! He has the dignity of a king. Oh yeah, he does. The grand King Zora has a princess named Ruto. She's an only child. She's also a wild tomboy and it seems like she's always causing the king a lot of trouble! The great King Zora should be in the Royal Chamber."

Trying to absorb all the information he was just given, the young man blinked before asking, "Where is the Royal Chamber located?"

"The great King Zora should be in the Royal Chamber." the Zora repeated.

"...Okay. Thank you." Link said, realizing that he was not going to say any more on the subject. Turning back to his small adventuring buddy he asked, "Do you have any idea where it could be?"

"I saw a hole underwater that led somewhere, we could check there. But I'm not sure if I could swim that far down." the young child told him, glancing down at the water.

"You can stay out here then. I'll check it out first. If I need you there, I'll come get you. Now, where did you see this hole?" The boy led them both to where he had seen the watery entrance, which was only a few feet from where they were previously standing. The older of the two jumped into the water, immediately spotting the opening his companion mentioned. With one last glance at the young green-clad hero, he dove into the water and swam into the entrance. Suddenly he emerged from a large lake. As he swam up to the surface, he saw a Zora also swimming in the lake, surfacing along with him.

"I am a Zora. Have you seen anything strange in the lake? The river carries many things into this lake!"

He gave the Zora a strange look, not understanding the random comment he had made. Then, as he looked in the water, he spotted something strange on the ground. He dove towards it and picked it up. It was a bottle, but there was some sort of note inside. He surfaced and took out the note.

"Help me. I'm waiting for you inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly.  
-Ruto  
PS: Don't tell my father!"

Putting the note back in the water, he swam back to where he had left his younger friend.

"What happened? Did you find him? What did he say?" the blonde child asked, stepping away from his dripping wet friend, who in response took out the bottle and showed it to him.

"He wasn't down there. I emerged in some sort of lake. Then I found this bottle with that note inside. We need to keep looking, but it seems like the King's daughter is in some sort of trouble inside of 'Lord Jabu-Jabu'." Link explained taking the bottle back from the child and putting it away.

"Come on. We haven't checked this area up here." He walked up a path leading towards the top of Zora's domain, young Link following behind him.

They made their way up to the very top of Zora's Domain, discovering King Zora sitting on a small waterfall.

They spotted steps leading to a small platform in front of the King. Both heroes walked up to it. The young, blonde man spoke up.

"Your majesty, we have heard that you and your people are in possession of the Spiritual Stone of Water. We ask you to please give it to us. We were sent to collect all of the Spiritual Stones by Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule."

The King looked at them, a distraught expression sitting on his face. "Yes. I understand. However, I cannot give you the stone due to the fact that it is in my daughter's possession and she is missing at the moment. My poor princess Ruto…"

Upon hearing the King say the Zora Princess's name, they looked at each other and then back up at the King. "Your highness, we found a note that we suspect is from your daughter," the older hero informed the large Zora King.

"What?! Show me the note at once!" the large leader of the Zora people demanded, holding out his hand expectantly.

Link handed him the bottle that contained the young princess's desperate plea for help.

"Ho, this letter! It's from Princess Ruto! Hmmm… Let's see… She's inside Lord Jabu-Jabu? That's not possible! Our guardian god, Lord Jabu-Jabu, would never eat my dear Princess Ruto! But since that stranger, Ganondorf, came here, Lord Jabu-Jabu has been a little green around the gills… The evidence seems clear. Of course, you two will go find Ruto. You can pass through here to the altar of Lord Jabu-Jabu. I'll keep the letter. You two can keep the bottle it was in. Take it respectfully! Please find my dear Princess Ruto immediately. She will most likely have what you are looking for." Once he finished speaking to the young, blonde heroes, he very slowly began to scoot out of the way of the entrance to Zora's Fountain, the place where Lord Jabu-Jabu resided to allow them to pass through.

Once he has finished moving, the adventurers went up the path on the right that led to the newly revealed entrance and stepped outside, immediately noticing the large fish swimming with its head near a platform, it's eyes staring off into two different directions, and a crown placed on its head.

Before they could take another step, Fi interrupted them.

"Master. My senses indicate that the god of the Zora people known as Lord Jabu-Jabu will not open his mouth unless he is being fed." the blue and purple being told them. "His diet primarily consists of fish." Link nodded and Fi went back into the Master Sword, leaving the heroes with the information she had just provided.

"Where do we get fish?" the young ten-year-old asked aloud. The Hero of the Goddess thought for a second, the image of a shop within Zora's Domain appearing in his head and, subsequently, in the Hero of Time's head.

"We could try the shop." the child told his older counterpart. Link's eyebrows raised in confusion before he smiled, realizing that he unintentionally communicated with the blonde child. "My thoughts exactly." With those words, the green-clad heroes made their way back into Zora's domain and out of King Zora's throne room. They walked down to the shop and went in. The older of the two walked over to the shop owner, having seen that there were in fact fish for sale. As he did that, the young Kokiri walked over to a Zora in the shop and decided to talk to him.

"I want to buy a fish, but they are a little too expensive… I have no choice but to catch one of the fish that's swimming around out there." The Zora says, looking at the young, blue-eyed boy with a sad gaze, his scarcity of rupees forcing him to hunt down the water dwelling creatures.

"Out where?" the young hero asked, his blue eyes looking at the human-like fish creature with a questioning gaze.

"I want to buy a fish…"

Seeing that the Zora was only going to repeat itself again, the child stopped listening and walked towards the older hero, standing next to him as he received a fish from the shopkeeper. The two exited the store, making their way back to Lord Jabu Jabu.

"Two hundred rupees for a fish? That is crazy!" Link exclaimed, feeling robbed of his rupees. "Yeah, especially since you could have just caught one." The older hero stopped in his tracks. "What?! Why didn't you tell me before I bought it?" Link asked, confused as to why the child let him spend two hundred rupees on something they could have gotten for free.

"I don't know where to catch them, just that we could have. Besides, you had already paid by the time I found out." The child explained, not knowing why it was such a big deal. He had seen the inside of his wallet. He had well over two hundred rupees.

The older adventurer rolled his eyes at the child's thoughts. "You don't know how many times I had to play this stupid cannon game to get this money."

Not understanding what his older companion was talking about, the young Kokiri continued up the path and out to where the large Zora god was swimming, seemingly uninterested in the two heroes.

"She must have been swallowed when she was trying to feed him…Well, let's see if it will happen to us too…" Before the child had time to question what he meant, the older hero pulled out his bottle and let the fish fall to the ground. The fish hopped around, in a vain attempt to get back into the water and survive. Suddenly, the huge fish opened its large mouth and began to suck in not only it's food, but also the two heroes, who let out yells of terror and surprise.

The two heroes landed on the inside of Jabu Jabu's mouth. In fact, they could probably leave if they wanted to.

They stood up, the smell of rotten fish heavy in the humid air. They looked around, noticing two bubbles floating around near the back of the Zora god's throat and something yellow hanging from the roof of his mouth. The older hero took a step forward causing two octoroks to spring up from the slightly yellow fluids in the center of the fish's mouth. Instinctively, the hero held up his shield and sent the rocks flying towards their owners, defeating them both. Once the octoroks had been dealt with, the two walked forward, Navi flying out and glowing a bright yellow near the growth on the roof of the enormous fish's mouth.

Upon noticing the fairy's strange behavior, an idea formed in his head, the older hero stopping in his tracks as he also received his thought.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea. We are within a very large living being. One that hasn't harmed us in any way. We could hurt it in some way."

The young Kokiri shook his head and looked up at him with certainty in his eyes. "Trust me. I have a good feeling about this."

Not wanting the child to believe he didn't trust him, he nodded and took out his Scattershot and aimed it at the yellow growth and shot it, several Deku seeds flying forward and hitting their target.

The growth instantly shrunk and a series of veins retracted from an area in the back of the Zora God's throat. The two heroes headed towards it, both taking a step back when the back of his throat opened into another area. The two of them walked in without hesitation, the throat closing behind them. Immediately they encountered what looked to be a jellyfish floating towards them.

"What in the world is that?" the older hero asked himself, knowing that he would get his answer from either Fi or Navi. Navi flew out of the young adventurer's hat. "That's a Biri. If you touch it, you will be electrocuted!"

Both heroes nodded, acknowledging the fairy's warning. The older hero once again pulled out his Scattershot and took aim before shooting the Biri, slightly surprised when the enemy merely froze in place, turning a darker blue. Realizing that he had only stunned it for a few seconds, he grabbed the child by the hand and ran to the other side of the room, hoping that it wouldn't spot them. Soon the jellyfish began to move once again, however, just as the Hero of the Goddess had predicted, it no longer spotted them and just floated harmlessly closer to where they had once been. Relaxing a bit, the heroes began to observe their surroundings. The room had one path going along one side of the room. In the center, there was an opening that seemed to lead to a room below. Across from that, there was a blue growth coming from the bottom tissue right in front of another 'door' covered in the strange veins. Behind them was another 'door' leading to another area deeper within the giant fish.

Seeing no way to go through the door near the blue growth, the turned and went through the one behind them, spotting the missing Zora Princess.

They walked towards her, surprised to have found her so quickly.

"You! Who are you two?! I am Ruto, Princess of the Zoras. What?! Are you saying my father asked you to come here to save me? I'd never ask anyone to do such a thing! 'Letter in a Bottle?' I have no idea what you're talking about! My father is worried about me? I don't care! Anyway, I can't go home right now. And you two… Get out of here! Understand?!" She turned and walked away from the two heroes, neither saying a thing to her during or after her rant. Not noticing the hole in the 'ground', the Zora Princess walked into it, falling into the room below. "Ooooh Noooooo!"

Worried that she might have hurt herself, the two heroes quickly ran in after her, the younger one letting out a yell of fear.

"Are you two still hanging around here? I told you to go away! I'm OK. I've been going inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly since I was little, but… Lord Jabu-Jabu is very strange today… There are electrified jellyfish and strange holes around… On top of that, my precious stone was…but… That's none of your business! Anyway… You two! Go home now! Understand?!"

The heroes looked at each other, then back at the Zora Princess, silently communicating their intentions to stay.

"You're that worried about me? Then I will give one of you the honor of carrying me! However…I won't leave until I find the thing I'm looking for. You'd better believe me!" After saying this, she sat down on the ground, patiently waiting for one of the two heroes to pick her up and carry her.

Figuring that it would be easier for him to carry the young Zora, the older hero bent over and picked her up, putting her on his shoulders so he could still use his sword.

"Alright, hold on tight and don't let go. Where was the last place you saw the item you're looking for?"

"Umm…I don't remember. So, we'll have to look everywhere. I won't leave until I have it back!"

The two heroes rolled their eyes in full knowledge that the Zora could not see them. Deciding to start with the room behind them, the two turned and walked through the door, not noticing the slight blush on the princess's face.

They entered a hallway with several bubbles floating around. Navi quickly flew out, glowing yellow. "These are Shabom. It's a big floating bubble. Be careful not to touch it!"

Heeding her warning, they made their way through the hall, taking great care to not touch the harmful bubbles. At the end of the hall, they saw a room with more Shaboms. In the middle of the room was a pit containing another yellow growth and some fluids with what seemed to be some strange rays with a fin on its back. To the left of that were some veins with a golden Skulltula crawling on them, spinning in a circle. The older of the two Links walked over to the edge of the pit and jumped in, making sure to hold on to Ruto so she would not fall off of his shoulders. The younger hero followed them, about to go step on the growth when the older one stopped him. "Oh, no you don't. I see a way to go on the other side. Here," the older hero held out his arm, the child grabbing hold, before swinging him up to the platform in the direction they needed to go. Once he was there, the older hero dashed up the side of the platform before grabbing on to the edge and pulling himself and the Zora princess up to where the child was. Standing up, he and the two children headed towards the door at the end of the opposite hallway, hitting another yellow lump hanging from the Zora God's body. Going through the door into the next room, they found themselves in the room below the one they had been in before finding Ruto. In it was a platform that seemed to rise into the room above them from a pool of 'water'. Behind that was an Octorok, waiting to strike at anything it saw.

Before the platform had a chance to rise without them, the three of them, Ruto not having a say in the matter, jumped onto it and rode it up.

Once they were back up to the room they had once been in, they jumped off of the platform and headed back into the room where they had first encountered the Zora Princess. Upon entering, they noticed a large blue tentacle looking thing going through one of the holes and a door on the other side of the room. As they neared the door, a bigger version of the Biri fell from above and landed beside them. Instead of attacking it, the older hero grabbed the child's hand once again and ran into the next room, not even stopping to hear Navi's explanation for the new enemy.

"You know, you don't need to keep grabbing my hand. I may be just a kid, but I can take care of myself. I'm not as helpless as you think I am." The child told his older companion, frowning in annoyance.

Link looked at him, smiling. "You're right. I know you can. And I will admit that because of your size, my first instinct is to protect you, not let you fight, but I must understand that I am with another hero. The Hero of Time, no less. I'll stop holding your hand. But, if I see you in danger's way I will help you out. You can't expect me to just stand by, just as I wouldn't expect you not to help me if I needed it."

Understanding where his blonde companion was coming from, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

They then looked at their surroundings. They entered a room that split off into three different directions, with unfamiliar enemies buried in the ground in each direction.

"That's a Tailpasaran. Its tail is its weak point!" Navi informed them, feeling ignored.

Deciding to head through the path on the left, they made their way towards another branching path, the walls and ground undulating around them. One of those paths was blocked by a red pulsating electrified tentacle. The other had a yellow growth in front of a door covered in veins. The child ran forward and stood on it before the older hero could protest, however, nothing seemed to happen.

"This switch… It doesn't look like you can press it down with your weight alone, Link…" Navi told the child.

"This is a switch? So, we won't hurt Lord Jabu-Jabu by stepping on it?" The young man asked.

"That is correct, Master Link." Fi informed him from within the Master Sword.

Assuming that stepping on the switch would allow them to progress, he stepped on it as well, the switch going down with his weight, causing the veins to retract and leave the way open for them. They quickly went through the door, finding themselves is a room filled with the enemies Navi then informed them were called 'Stingers', the door locking behind them. The two heroes worked together to defeat every enemy in the room, doing so efficiently. Once they were done with that, the door unlocked and a large treasure chest appeared in the center of the room. The two blonde haired heroes looked at each other before the older hero gestured towards the chest, indicating that he should open it.

The child then looked at the chest and walked towards it. He lifted the heavy lid up and opened the chest, almost having to climb into it to retrieve the treasure. Blindly reaching into the chest, his fingers closed around something hard. He pulled it out of the large chest, the light in the room allowing him to see what it was. He turned and triumphantly held it up in the air. The Hero of the Goddess waited until the child lowered the item and put it away before asking, "What is a boomerang doing inside of the Zora god?"

"No idea. But I won't complain. I finally have another weapon to use besides my sword, which isn't nearly as powerful as yours…" The child looked down, slightly ashamed that he couldn't protect them like his older friend could.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. I worked hard to make this sword what it is now, which is why it has the power to repel evil. Soon, you'll have one just like it. I don't know how well you'll be able to wield it being that you are a child. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." The hero turned, conscious of the Zora princess's hold on him, and made his way towards the exit, the younger hero trailing behind him.

Seeing as how the red tentacle was still blocking their way, they continued to the other paths, looking for a way to progress. They headed towards a door with a blue switch in front of it, the door inaccessible to them. The child stood on the button, unlocking the door ahead of them, however, when he stepped off it, the switch rose again, blocking their way.

Understanding that someone needed to stay behind and remain on the switch, the Hero of the Goddess, with the Zora Princess still on his back, made his way to it and stood on it, once again allowing them to progress.

"I'll stay here and protect Ruto. You go on ahead. I know that you can handle whatever it is that is on the other side."

The child looked at the older hero with uncertainty and fear. Then he thought back to what he had told him back in Dodongo's cavern.

" _It's alright to be scared, but a part of being a hero is standing up despite those fears to protect those who cannot protect themselves."_

At hearing his thoughts, he smiled and nodded reassuringly, earning a small smile and confident nod from his younger companion, who then turned and walked through to the next room.

The door closed behind him and he noticed one of the red pulsating tentacles that blocked the way to another path. It dangled in the center of the room, seemingly harmless. He walked closer to it, causing it to swing backward before it swung towards him, striking him in the face and knocking him backward. He stood, his head spinning, holding his cheek, which was beginning to swell from the blow. He looked back at the tentacle, which Navi then informed him was called a 'Parasitic Tentacle', though she didn't seem too sure. Taking his boomerang out, he aimed it at the thinner part of the tentacle near the top of the room, and he threw it, the boomerang slicing through some of it, causing it to retract.

Knowing that was the way to defeat it, he walked towards it once again, his boomerang in hand, trying to lure it back down, successfully doing so and slicing more of the tentacle. He did this once more and the tentacle fell to pieces. Immediately after, a chest appeared in the room and the child rolled over to it and opened it, finding a map inside. Put it away and rolled over to the door, which had unlocked when he defeated the Parasitic Tentacle. The young hero walked through, receiving a concerned look from his older companion.

"What happened to you? Are you alright?"

He looked at the older male and smiled. "I'm fine. I got hit by a huge tentacle in there, but it didn't do too much damage. I defeated it and I got this map." He took out the map and handed it to his friend, who took it with a confused look on his face. "Who took the time to map out the inside of the Zora god? I don't think people, or Zoras for that matter, were ever meant to go in here."

"You have a point. I didn't really think it was all that strange until you mentioned it just now."

The heroes decided to drop the subject and continue forward, neither noticing the deepening blush of embarrassment on Princess Ruto's face.

They went through a door in the passageway next to the one they had previously been in and found a room full of shaboms. Working together once again, they defeated every single one of them, receiving another chest which contained a compass. Eventually, they made their way to a room where another Parasitic Tentacle was dangling in the center.

"Stay back you guys. I got this," the child told the young Zora and the older hero, who raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded, taking a few steps back to give the child room. The Hero of Time then took out his boomerang and defeated the tentacle in the same way he did before, earning a proud smile from the older hero and a flirtatious look from the princess.

Realizing that every tentacle they defeated cleared a way for them to progress, they then exited that room and made their way to the room containing the last of the tentacles.

The older Link put his hand on the child's shoulder, stopping him from taking his boomerang out. "I want to take this one down."

The child frowned and nodded, stepping aside and allowing the older hero a shot at taking down the Tentacle, focusing his attention to the biri floating along the edges of the room.

As the child did this, the older hero raised his sword, a magical light engulfing the Master Sword. Soon, the blade was glowing with this light and the hero slashed his sword horizontally causing the light to shoot out and effectively slice through the tentacle, defeating it instantly.

Both the Zora and the young Kokiri gazed at him in awe, never having seen anything like that before.

"What was that? That was amazing!" the young Link exclaimed.

"That was my Skyward Strike. I don't do it very often because it takes a while to charge up. That tentacle looked like one that was going through a hole in the room we found Ruto in. I bet we go through there now." He walked past the boy, who began to follow him, asking question after question about the attack he had just done.

"How far does it go? Does it defeat everything it touches? How can you do that? Can I do that? How did you learn to do that?"

The young adult rolled his eyes in amusement, not even attempting to answer his questions. Soon they arrived at the room where the tentacle had been dangling, preventing them access to a hole that led to the room below. As the Hero of the Goddess had suspected, it was no longer there. The three of them went into it, landing on a higher area in a room they had previously been in, however, now they were able to go through a door that they could not before. The room had one circular platform surrounded by shallow 'water'. the young Zora began to wiggle and reach out to something on the platform.

"That's it! That's what I've been looking for! Throw me up there! Onto the platform!" After having said this, she stopped moving and patiently waited on the older hero's shoulders. He walked over to the platform and placed her on it before climbing up himself, pulling the young Kokiri up after him.

Princess Ruto walked over to a shiny stone, picking it up and holding it in the air, letting the heroes see it. She then put it away and looked at the heroes. "Oh my goodness! I finally found… My mother's stone… I got very upset when Lord Jabu Jabu swallowed it… While I was feeding him, he suddenly swallowed me! I was so surprised I dropped it inside… But now that I've found it, I don't need to be in here anymore! So, take me home, right now!"

The heroes nodded. The older hero bent down and lifted the young Zora back onto his shoulders. Suddenly, the platform began to rise up into another room. They immediately saw what seemed to be an octorok, but it was much bigger than the ones they had previously encountered. "Keeeyaaaah! What is this?! An octopus?!" the young Zora princess yelled, afraid of the monster in front of them. They ran off the platform, now seemingly part of the ground. In an attempt to attack them, the large octopus-like monster 'ran' after them. However, as soon as he touched the platform, it began to lower it into the room they had previously been in.

"What just happened?" the older hero asked, surprised by their sudden 'escape' from their enemy.

"I have no idea." The younger hero responded, catching his breath.

"Who cares?! Let's get out of here!"

The heroes looked at the Zora princess, and knowing she was not accustomed to dangerous situations and was therefore scared out of her mind, they nodded.

They went through the only door in the room, entering a room with two more enemies they had never seen before. The young, blonde Kokiri walked forward, causing the one in front of him to rise and wiggle around, seemingly in a sort of attack. He took his boomerang out and threw it at the wiggling red enemy, stunning him and unintentionally creating a platform. They all jumped on it, doing the same with the other. They jumped across to where another door was located and went through. There, they saw only a platform. Not knowing what else to do, they jumped onto it, causing it to lower into the room below.

"This is where we first started. The exit is to our right, through that door. Let's go." The older Link told them, walking towards the door furthest from the boxes. They walked through, once again avoiding the octorocs in the mouth of the Zora God, who just opened his mouth when they walked near his teeth.

After they finally left the mouth of Lord Jabu Jabu, Link helped the young Zora female off of his shoulders, who then ran towards the tunnel leading to the Zora throne room. Before entering, she stopped, turned to face her rescuers, and took out her mother's stone.

"Hey. Link, right? The younger one. I really admire how brave you were in there. I want you to have something. Come here." The young child walked over to her, not understanding what she had for him or why she was blushing.

"I want you to have this stone. It was my mother's. She told me to give it to the man who would one day be my husband. It is the spiritual stone of water and is also called Zora's sapphire or Zora's engagement ring."

Link took the stone, holding up in the air before putting it away. The Zora ran into the tunnel, returning to her father.

The older hero walked up to his younger incarnation. "You're a little too young to be engaged, aren't you?"

"What's 'engaged'?" the child asked, confused by his friend's question.

"It means you're getting married. Although I wouldn't take her seriously, she probably doesn't know what it means herself." The child's eyes widened. "I don't want to marry her."

"But the little ranch girl is a different story, hmm?" Link asked, smiling knowingly.

"Her name is Malon…" the child responded, walking in the direction the Zora princess went in. "We should get back to Zelda. We have all the stones."

The Hero of the Goddess smiled, realizing the child was trying to change subjects. "Let's get going then."

They made their way out of Zora's domain, receiving the Zora King's gratitude for saving his daughter, alleviating the stress he had been feeling since her disappearance and returning to Hyrule Field.

They walked into Castle Town, walking towards the entrance to the castle. This time, the soldier walked right up to them, leaving his post at the gate. "Are you the heroes from the forest?"

The pair nodded, the older hero receiving a doubting look from the soldier. "I was informed by Lady Impa to bring you to her and the Princess. Come with me, please."

They looked at each other, silently following the soldier who led them through the gate, another soldier replacing him at his post. They walked up the path, past the many soldiers guarding the castle, none of them looking in their direction. Instead of going the way they snuck in, he led them straight through the front doors into the throne room, a plush red carpet leading to three chairs at the end of the room, several doors at the left and back of the room, leading to other parts of the castle. To the right of the room was a window which led to the courtyard where the child first met Zelda. Impa and the Princess stood near the thrones, waiting for them.

"Link! You've returned! Do you have them? The stones?" the Princess asked, her eyes wide and a hopeful smile on her face.

The child nodded. "Yes. We have them. How do we get to the sword?"

Zelda reached out from behind her and took out a blue ocarina. "The Ocarina of Time is the key to opening the door of time, which protects the Master Sword from falling into the wrong hands."

She put it in the hands of the young child. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Fi appearing in front of them.

"Master Link. I detect an eighty percent possibility of certain failure if you leave the Princess behind. Due to her possession of the Triforce of Wisdom in the future, it is possible that Demise can take her piece and use it against you and the other heroes. I suggest you bring her and all future decedents possessing the Triforce of Wisdom to your present time." She then disappeared back to her place in the sword.

"You want to take the Princess?! I simply cannot allow that. It is my duty to protect the princess no matter what. I am not letting her out of my sight." Impa informed them, stepping forward and putting a hand on the Princess's shoulder.

The older hero also stepped forward, looking only at the Sheikah woman. "Impa, is it? I knew an Impa once. She was a strong woman. She protected the love of my life, who turned out to be the Goddess reborn as a human. She protected her no matter what, putting her life on the line in order to keep her safe. The Goddess reborn as a human. When she was reborn, her name was also Zelda. Impa's situation was very similar to yours. She also did not trust me to protect her Zelda. But I proved to her I was more than worthy of being her hero. I promise you. I will not let anyone harm a hair on her head. She will not come with us on our adventure. She will stay in a Hyrule of the past with the Zelda formerly known as the Goddess Hylia. She is surrounded by skilled knights. She will be safer there than she would be here, where you can be attacked by the evil being Demise and his incarnation."

Impa looked at him, a thoughtful look on her face. "I've heard tales of this Impa you speak of. In fact, I believe this is my own name because of those tales. It is an honor to meet someone who personally knew her. I will entrust the princess's life to you." And with one last reassuring look to the Princess, she walked towards a door in the back of the throne room.

The three of them turned to see a soldier standing behind them. "I do not approve of Lady Impa's decision to let you take the princess, but I have no choice but to accept it. I will lead you all back into the Castle Town undetected."

Once they were back in the bustling town, Zelda now wearing a hood to disguise her identity, the young Princess lead them to the Temple of Time. They walked up to a pedestal of some kind and Zelda turned to look at them.

"Place the Spiritual Stones here."

The heroes did as they were told. "Link, take out the Ocarina of Time and play this song." She sang three notes twice, the young child repeating the notes back to her with the blue ocarina. Suddenly, two large doors in the back of the temple opened up, revealing sword with a blue hilt embedded within a pedestal exactly like the one the older hero was already carrying.

"That is the Master Sword." After saying this, Zelda led the heroes up the steps and into the room where the Master Sword slept.

The child looked at his older companion as if silently asking a question.

Understanding his unspoken question, he nodded and gently pushed him towards the sword. The child climbed the steps, slowly making his way towards the sword. Once he was standing in front of it, he grabbed hold of the hilt and pulled, the sword leaving its pedestal. A blue light shot out of the pedestal and surrounded the area around the child, a similar light beginning to surround the young princess as well. The young Kokiri and Princess Zelda began to age before Link's very eyes, and although he could not see it, all of Hyrule experienced this change as well, looking much more run down than before.

Soon, the blue light faded, leaving a much more adult hero and princess in its place.

The once young Kokiri put the sword away, sudden memories of a quest he must have completed, but didn't remember until then, filled his mind. Quickly checking his inventory, he found that it was filled with items and tunics. He even had four bottles and felt incredibly powerful. He also had a very large sword he had to wield with two hands and a shield that reflected light. He turned and looked, first at the Princess, who also seemed to have these memories flooding her mind, then at his companion, who he still remembered, confused as to why he had two different memories from the beginning of his quest: one of him journeying alone, and one of him traveling with the Hero of the Goddess.

"I remember everything. But it somehow feels as though it never really happened," the Hero of Time told his similarly dressed friend.

"I know. They appeared in my head too, however, it went by so fast that I hardly remember it all," the Goddess's Hero told him, having unintentionally received his memories as well.

"You were wrong." The skyward bound hero looked at his friend in confusion. "About what?"

"Ruto was serious. She really wanted to marry me. She even scolded me for making her wait for seven years. But I don't love her. I've only ever had eyes for one girl."

The Hero of the Goddess smiled, knowing he was talking about the ranch girl.

"Link…"

The Hero of Time turned towards the Princess, who was looking at him with shame in her eyes. "Had I not made you retrieve the Spiritual Stones, all of this would have been prevented. I tried to prevent something I didn't even understand, and I ended up making a mess of things. I'm sorry."

Link walked over to her, raising her chin, coaxing her to look at him. "Zelda. This was all fated to happen. It wasn't your fault." Link then looked at his more experienced companion. "Shouldn't we be headed to the Hyrule of the past?"

He nodded and called Fi out of the Master Sword. "Fi, we are ready to depart."

The being appeared in front of them all, facing her master. "Understood Master Link. I will create a portal back to your present Hyrule."

With that, a swirling blue portal appeared in front of them, Zelda hesitantly entering, followed by her hero, and lastly the hero from the sky.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I worked really hard on it and it took me quite a while to write. I apologize if some of the dungeon parts are a tad bit confusing, it is pretty difficult to describe things that are meant to be played, but I did my best. I am very excited for the next chapter. Our heroes will be spending some time relaxing in the world of Skyloft and watching the creation of Hyrule. More lovey-dovey scenes between Link and Zelda! That chapter will also give me some time to prepare for the next game in the story, which I will admit, I have never played. Till next time!**

 **-TL**


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